Guild House zu Mittellöwen

About the building

The house of the Gesellschaft zu Mittellöwen runs from the Amthausgasse through to the Marktgasse and therefore has two very different fronts. At Amthausgasse 6 you see a late baroque facade of four bays and four storeys; the two central bays project slightly, pilaster strips tie the first and second floors together, and an attic storey sits above. On a bracket sits a red lion of 1905/06, the society's emblem. At Marktgasse 11, by contrast, stands a commercial building of 1905 with three arcade arches and rich neo-baroque window grilles.

The site has a long history. The house first appears in 1389 in the Udelbuch, the city's register of property. In 1465 it belonged to the Bishop of Lausanne, Guillaume de Varax, who used it as a lodging; the later name „Zum Falken“ probably goes back to the coat of arms of his successor Aymon de Montfalcon. In 1546 the city sold the house to Ulrich Koch, and ten years later the „Golden Falcon“ is mentioned for the first time. In 1722 the Gesellschaft zu Mittellöwen bought the inn for 32,000 pounds. From then on it was both an inn and the society's house. According to the society's website it was the best address in Bern; in 1777 Emperor Joseph II stayed here.

Building work is recorded for 1732 to 1736; the city's building inventory speaks of a new building on the Marktgasse side. The Amthausgasse facade dates from 1765/66; Wikipedia attributes it to Niklaus Sprüngli on the basis of payments in the treasurer's accounts. The hotel closed in 1904, for economic reasons according to the society. The house was demolished, and only the Amthausgasse facade was left standing. Behind it Paul Lindt, then president of the society, and his partner Max Hofmann built a guild and commercial building in 1905/06. The Marktgasse front takes its cue from Bernese models of the late 18th century.

During the conversion of 1962/63 the ground floor of the baroque facade disappeared; since then four plain sandstone piers have formed an arcade, which the building inventory regards as a serious impairment. The two guild rooms and the staircase survived. In 1964 the neighbouring house at Amthausgasse 4 was added under a building lease, and during the 1991/92 conversion the first-floor hall was extended into it. The painter Rudolf Münger decorated the Vennerstube with a frieze of pictures and coats of arms between 1909 and 1918. Today the society uses the rooms for its own events, such as its assembly, the Grosse Bott; the hall was restored in 2020.

Researched and summarised by Bärn Kit. Sources: Bauinventar der Stadt Bern: Amthausgasse 6 · Bauinventar der Stadt Bern: Marktgasse 11 · Gesellschaft zu Mittellöwen: Gesellschaftshaus · Wikipedia (de): Gesellschaftshaus zu Mittellöwen · Wikidata: Q104523591